What are your thoughts on multiple endings?

[TWEWYFan]

Aside from things like Choose Your Own Adventure books, gaming is pretty much only story telling medium where the player can actively change the outcome of the story(within the constraints of the game of course). It's been a staple of the medium since the early days and is something some players seem to hold in high regard. My question is: is this necessarily a good thing?

On the one hand, being an interactive medium, it's something gaming really lends itself to. It also allows players to add something of a personal touch to their play-throughs and can allow them to end the story in the way they most prefer. Theoretically, everyone ends the game more or less satisfied.

On the other hand, it can severely hamper things from a story-telling perspective. If they decide to make a sequel they either need to declare one ending canon, negating the point a bit, or distance the new game's story enough so that the last game doesn't really affect things. So in theory this could weaken the overall narrative and lose focus.

So what are everyone else's thoughts on multiple endings in games? Good? Bad? Can be improved?

 

[tippy2k2]

Personally, I can't stand it.

I don't believe I've ever seen it done well. It always seems to boil down to one of three things:

A. You choose it at the very end, rendering it kind of worthless (See Deus Ex, Mass Effect 3, etc.)
B. The "Evil" ending versus the "Good" ending (see Fable, Infamous, etc.)
C. Just a bunch of really shitty endings because they have to account for everything you've done (see basically any multiple ending games)

In fact, I would love for someone to point out a game that did multiple endings well. Maybe they do exist somewhere but I sincerely doubt it.

I've even gone so far as to say that Mass Effect 3's ending would have been much better if they would have one solid ending. Instead, you get the worthless choice ending where it's pretty much the same thing no matter what you choose (and this is coming from someone who enjoying ME3's ending; I just pretend there was no choice and Shepard did what he have done).

EDIT: I figured out when this works based on recommendations I've seen in this thread: When you have no clue there were multiple endings. Silent Hill, Metro 2033 (loved that game, I had no clue there were multiple endings to that game), Heavy Rain, and others that I haven't played but assume people are not lying to me

So there you go; one way that might actually work if it is done well

 

[mohit9206]

multiple endings are perfectly fine if each of the endings makes sense from a storytelling perspective and as long as each ending is significantly different from the other..
the choices you have made in the game until the end should be wrapped up in a way that would satisfy the person playing it.
rather than have 10-15 meaningless endings in a single game have 2-3 well made endings that genuinely make.sense to the player.
personally am.kind of person that never replays games no matter how good the game might be or how much replay value it may have. so i usually only see one ending even though the game might have many.
but it better be an ending that doesnt frustrate and annoy me ..

 

[CannibalCorpses]

I like the fallout endings. A quick explanation of what happened as a consequence in each of the major places you visited but plenty left unsaid for you to use your imagination for. I like the concept of multiple endings but they tend to boil down to vomit inducing greatness or stereotypical mwuahahaha bad guy.

I'm not that bothered about endings to be honest though. I try to play my characters as far from what i'm expected to as possible to make the ending (and indeed the whole story) as stupid as possible. The psycho killer who saves humanity, straight after gunning lots of civilians down for no reason. The team captain that deliberately leaves his squad to die for no reason or benefit. I try to break the story, just as much as i try to break the game by deliberately doing things i'm not supposed to.

*shrugs* I'm insane

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

Upon thinking about it for a good minute or so after reading the first couple of posts, I would say that if done in a very particular way, then I really like multiple endings.

I think that the way "multiple endings" have been done in some games such as ME3 and Deus Ex:HR aren't particularly strong ways to execute the idea of having multiple endings.

I feel like the best way that the whole idea of "multiple endings" has been approached is when the differences are reflected mainly in the characters as opposed to some world/universe changing event that happens at the end.

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2 spoilers. Just to be polite.

This is why I felt that ME2's "multiple endings" was absolutely fantastic. Sure you can say that "technically" it was mainly your squad assignments at the end that determined the ending, but at least it took into account whether you did the side-missions to acquire loyalty. The overall ending of the game pretty much remained the same except for the ending where Shepard dies. However, the thing that changes is the lives of the characters that you've traveled with. This allows for a feeling of actually having an effect on the game you just played, yet the fact that the effects are mostly personal allow one the developer a fair amount of freedom in a potential sequel.

Another example of what I stated above would be the game Catherine. The different endings are all pretty much just personal consequences to in-game actions. I also thought that it did a fairly good, if a bit transparent, job factoring all of the actions that you take along the way.

So, overall I think that when executed well multiple endings can really add to a game. However, a game certainly does have to be designed around having the player care about the potential endings. This means that a developer would have to plan from the get-go what their multiple endings will entail, and design the game around the players caring about that which will be affected.

This is what I find to be the main issues in both ME3 and Deus Ex:HR. Throughout both games the story feels heavily focused on the main character and companions. The moments where we found personal choice to be memorable are those moments when we had to make choices that would affect the our companions. However, the ending of both of these games feel far to abstract and "big-picture" which wasn't what the game had been focusing previously. (Note: I never finished Deus Ex:HR I'm just basing this on hearsay.) I feel that this is what drove many ME3 players to desire an ending with closure on the characters the game had been following throughout the series.

Whatever though. These are just random ramblings of an average gamer. No need to take it too seriously.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I have no issue with multiple endings (assuming they're done well), but I would prefer if a game reacted to your actions throughout the entire game, and not just at the very end. It wouldn't even have to be anything dramatic, just small amounts of different dialogue that acknowledges what you've done in the game would be much more effective at giving you the illusion of having an impact than everything being exactly the same until the very end. Of course, if we can have both, then I would certainly take it.

 

[afroebob]

Oh God damn it, I thought we were done talking about Mass Effect 3! P.S. anyone who says this forum isn't about ME3 is going to Hell for lying.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

If someone did it WELL then I'd freaking love it. But so far... it's all seemed pretty meh to me.

But then again I haven't played any of the new games taht came out this except for BL2 and that's not a choice ending.

 

[G-Force]

Visual Novels THRIVE on multiple endings and usually do a great job pulling them off

 

[redmoretrout]

Personally, I can't stand it.

I don't believe I've ever seen it done well. It always seems to boil down to one of three things:

A. You choose it at the very end, rendering it kind of worthless (See Deus Ex, Mass Effect 3, etc.)
B. The "Evil" ending versus the "Good" ending (see Fable, Infamous, etc.)
C. Just a bunch of really shitty endings because they have to account for everything you've done (see basically any multiple ending games)

In fact, I would love for someone to point out a game that did multiple endings well. Maybe they do exist somewhere but I sincerely doubt it.


I've even gone so far as to say that Mass Effect 3's ending would have been much better if they would have one solid ending. Instead, you get the worthless choice ending where it's pretty much the same thing no matter what you choose (and this is coming from someone who enjoying ME3's ending; I just pretend there was no choice and Shepard did what he have done).

Did you ever complete silent hill 1 or 2? those endings are based off of in-game decisions, but are not simply "choose blue/red dialogue option for good/evil ending" I firmly believe in an interactive medium such as a video game you should have an interactive conclusion. If not the writer should have written a a book or screenplay, not a game. All games should have an interactive ending and it is a despicable how few games can get this right.

 

[jthm]

*Ahem*

Chrono Trigger, Catherine, Chrono Cross, Deus Ex, Dragon Age, Heavy Rain, Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Parasite Eve II, Resident Evil, Shadow of Destiny, Star Ocean II

 

[JagermanXcell]

I like. But only if they're actually full of variety and aren't copy pasted like that one game that shall not be named that hath came out this year...

Infamous 2 did this VERY well, Mass Effect 2 did good as well (Ironic considering the sequel...), and Fable 2. Just recently Dark Souls' DLC made you rethink which ending was truly morally good while the other was a huge mistake.
Not saying every game should have multiple endings, but if done right so that they're actually worth playing to see and give the player a sense of satisfaction in the end.

 

[Mikejames]

Sometimes it feels unnecessary when compared to having one satisfying conclusion, but some do it better than others.

ME2's take was enjoyable, where there was maybe less emphasis on the general outcome but friends can live or die depending on tactical choices.
Really liked Dragon Age Origin's end(s) as well because it culminated several big choices and events throughout the story into the finale, while multiple smaller decisions and points of characterization are expanded on in the epilogue. It gave a personalized experience.

 

[Joccaren]

If done well, its brilliant.
Sadly, its rarely done well.

For example, Mass Effect 3's endings. They did it wrong. You do not give the player a choice at the end of which ending they want. That makes the entire point of multiple endings moot. They haven't effected the story to get this ending, they've said "I feel like having this ending", and chosen it.
Mass Effect 2 did this right, though to a smaller and more personal scale. You were given a final end choice, but it was, at the time, seemingly a set up for the next game, and now its just an arbitrary choice for no reason. Everything else, however, happened not because you said "I want to pick an ending where this this and this die, these guys live, and I fly off to safety" [Unless you read the guides online and managed to perfectly plan your mission so that the people you wanted to die died, and the people you wanted to live lived down to the person], but instead a "I prepared this guy earlier, and now it pays off".

I didn't mind the way Bioshock 2 did this either. Its endings weren't as... possibly out of place as the originals, and were based off what you had done in game. There was Good, Evil and everywhere in between for endings, sad ones, and bittersweet ones. It had more depth than most "You were the good guy", "You were the bad guy" endings, and came out alright because of it.

 

[War Penguin]

It really depends on the game, especially if choices are the strong point and the bread and butter of the experience. However, as Yahtzee has stated, it's mostly used for needless replay value that doesn't add much too the over all game.

As much as I love the game, Bioshock is a culprit of this crime. Adding multiple endings to a rather linear game feels very forced and unnecessary. The only way my experience in game changed due to my "moral choices" was in the endings. It was either good ending or evil ending. Whoop dee doo. No point in that multiple endings thing whatsoever.

Now in a game like Fallout New Vegas, multiple ending make sense because you make multiple choices rather than "kill little girl or don't." And your choices really do affect the game. Unlike Bioshock, New Vegas is a nonlinear game so multiple endings make sense and feel right at home in the game and similar ones like it.

So I like multiple endings as long as it makes sense with the rest of the game. If I'm given choices through out, then multiple endings are great. If I'm not given choices until at least the very end, or very obvious black and white ones that's essentially the same choice over and over again, then it's just stupid.

 

[Callate]

My problem tends to be less with endings themselves and more with the gyrations to get to those endings. Typically, game developers have a vested stake in making sure you see as much of what they've created as possible- the occasional "easter egg" aside, no one wants to put large amounts of time and money into assets that a significant portion of the audience will never appreciate, and possibly come away feeling they've gotten less than their money's worth as a result.

So all too frequently, all but the most trivial elements of endings come down to what the player does in the last half an hour (or less) of the game.

I would love to see more games that had dramatically different paths that you made a firm decision on at the half-way mark. I'd also like- and asset management being what it is, these two goals might be mutually exclusive- to see more games that took a "tree" approach to choice rather than an "onion" approach- all the myriad choices the player takes along the way leading to genuinely different endings, rather than either having it only come down to two or three, having all prior choices rendered largely meaningless by "channeling" the player into an unavoidable plot development, or both.

I would like to see more variety than "good path/neutral path/bad path". But I also don't particularly want the kind of "Everything is shades of grey, there are no real heroes" cop-out that pervades moments of something like Skyrim, where the player is left wondering, "Well, why do I have to pick between these bad options? Why do I have to accept the choices offered me by people I don't trust or respect? Am I the hero, or aren't I- do I really have a chance to change the destiny of the world, or am I just one more customer on a theme-park ride?"

 

[WoW Killer]

It adds replay value I guess. There's games I've played through multiple times just to see how the stories worked out. For instance in KotOR 2 I ended up playing through twice, first as light then as dark (I never did get round to doing a neutral run, but that was a third option if you wanted it).

Something I really don't like is when gameplay options are tied to story options. What I mean is, in some games you're given options like stealth/combat, lethal/non-lethal etc. and these end up making the story-based decisions for you (e.g. non-lethal is the "good" option). That seems like it's taking options away from the player; what if I only intend to play through once, and I want to be a combat based character that's also a good guy?

On the other hand, you probably should have some alternative gameplay options in there to add to the replay value. I wouldn't want to play a game again purely for the story. With the KotOR 2 example, there was in fact three playstyles (the classes) to go along with the three story options. But you weren't forced (pun) to pick light/dark based on your class or anything. I think that's probably the better way of handling it.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I'm not really on board with them, if feels like they cheapen all the other endings.

But then again, if they're done right, and you feel like most of your dicisons throughout the game have had an impact, then they're ok.
MASS EFFECT 3, I'M LOOKING AT YOU.

 

[KINGBeerZ]

The game which i'e seen it done best in is Disgaea, in which all the endings are interesting and different and the most entertaining ending is actually the easiest to get, (normal ending).